Do I even need this pocket killing asacol?

"What do yall think about stopping asacol/5asa pills?"

I think you're playing with fire, Cadillac Lover. I think you know what you doctor would tell you about going off the Asacol. While I sympathize with your concerns about cost - I'm paying upwards of $300 every four days for ulcerative colitis and cardiovascular disease medications and would be in the poor house if it weren't for insurance - I can never forget how quickly an unmedicated first flare got out in front of me and put me in the hospital for three weeks thirteen years ago. Remember where this scourge can go and ask yourself if you want to give it free reign.

It's a personal decision. We've all decided one time or another to go off meds. Ultimately, I think it's a bad decision.

You have the benefit of others who have stated the WHY of remaining on Asacol based on experience and research.
You're on a high dosage, maybe tapering (slowly) to a lower dosage if your scopes are clean. If you have pancolitis, I'd suggest no lower than 3600.

If you want to go off the meds...taper off, don't stop cold turkey.

What might help you weigh towards staying on them is try to remember your worst flares.

q

I think most of us have/had/will have exactly the thoughts you are having. Natural when we are doing well not to want to think about/take meds.

I agree with quincy about lowering your dose, doing it slowly with no symptoms but I would take a year of low dose+absolutely no symptoms before I thought about med-free. Then if any symptoms re-appeared restart the meds immediately.

This in fact is my goal for the next 2 years but I am not at the point of lowering meds...yet.

Good luck.

Edited to add: My second thoughts on dropping/lowering meds: If my remission was completely due to Rx meds I would probably not consider eliminating them, just lowering dose to the minimum to have no symptoms.

Because my remission is almost entirely due to diet modification I feel that meds are less important in my remission. Before I started the diet. mod. that actually worked (2 years ago) my Rx meds (which have not changed in 3 years) were not doing anything for my UC, I had all the obnoxious symptoms of bleeding, urgency, D, gas, etc.
I just wanted to qualify why I feel I can eventually reduce my meds and why my remission may be different than other peoples.

I was just talking about stopping asacol not all meds, but i think i will stay on and just cut other expenses out till deductible is met. Thx for all the replies.

I need a friend in Canada to get diagnosed somehow and send me Asacol for free.

When my daughter was diagnosed I abhored the idea of pentasa or sulfasalazine. Now, I would give anything for her to be maintained on those meds. My advice (and I do understand you want off the meds, so do most of the people here) is to consider yourself lucky that you have a good quality of life with them and keep taking them. Get into a solid remission somehow (slippery elm, vsl, tweaking diet etc - none of those things worked for us, so again, good that they are working for you) and stay there for a couple of years THEN slowly wean off of your meds if you can. Like others have said, if things are good, don't risk it. Up to you though.

Cadillac Lover,

Great that you are feeling good and having such great success with slippery elm/VSL. That's what I take every day.

IMO, the key if inflammation, like ItsAlwaysSomething said, and slippery elm is nature's equivalent to the mesalamines, coating the whole alimentary canal.

So yes, taper your oral meds slowly, until you're no longer taking them. , Keep on  with the slippery elm/VSL combo, and do continue with the maintenance enema/suppository.